


The Elephant in the Room

by dkmcb01



Series: One Shots SLIBBS [2]
Category: NCIS
Genre: #SLIBBS, F/M, One Shot, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-23
Updated: 2019-10-23
Packaged: 2020-12-31 14:24:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,851
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21147194
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dkmcb01/pseuds/dkmcb01





	The Elephant in the Room

Jack was sitting in her office staring at an elephant’s butt. Meaning she was sitting in her office staring at the Christmas gift Gibbs had given her 8 months late. A brightly colored painting of an elephant that had turned its back, so to speak. She found she stared at the elephant’s butt a lot since finding it hung up in her office a week or so ago.

Needed to think? Stare at the elephant. Gibbs hadn’t stopped by in a while? Stare at the elephant? Bored? Stare at the elephant. Busy? Turn around at random times, stretch and stare at the elephant. The painting of the elephant had almost become abstract to her. She studied the brush strokes. She tried to identify the paint colors. She wondered about the types of brushes used? Was it oil or acrylic? 

She was staring at the elephant’s butt when Gibbs walked in. He cleared his throat to alert her of his presence. She turned around and he handed her a cup of coffee. She smiled up at him and took it.

“Hmmmm perfect. Thank you - I needed this,” she said as she moved to the couch in her office.

Gibbs moved to sit beside her, an appropriate distance apart. 

“How’s the case going? Need anything from me?” Jack asked him as she kicked off her shoes and crossed her legs on the couch.

Gibbs looked at Jack for a minute or so. He didn’t really stare at her - it was more that he was thinking about the case and was also distracted by the sunlight streaming through the window behind them - lighting her hair just right. He wanted to reach out and touch her hair but he sipped his coffee instead. She was also wearing his favorite white button-down and black pencil squirt. He cleared his throat, again,

“Tim is bringing in the suspect. They will be here in about an hour...want to watch the interrogation? Tell me what you think?” he asked.

“Sure,” Jack replied.

Gibbs sat there for a few minutes. Thinking about the last time they spoke about Ziva...just a few days ago. He had asked her if she wanted to talk about anything. He remembered she got quiet and told him “maybe later.” He took another sip of his coffee.

“You want to talk, Jack?” he asked his eyes meeting hers.

Jack held her breath for a split second. She sipped her own coffee, buying her a few seconds to collect her thoughts,

“Tonight?” she replied, looking down and then back up.

Gibbs nodded and asked,

“Over steaks or something else?”

“Steaks and I’ll bring the beer,” she said.

They finished their coffee and headed to the interrogation room. They both walked into the recording room just off interrogation. Looking through the one-way mirror, they watched the suspect squirm in the hard chair. 

“What’s the plan for him?” Jack asked 

“Going to let him wait a few more minutes. He’s getting agitated. What do you make of it?” Gibbs asked

Jack studied the suspect, watching his hands and feet and then his eyes and his facial expressions.

“He’s very expressive. Not closed off... Shouldn’t take you very long.”

She replied.

She studied Gibbs for a moment. The room lit only by all the recording equipment and some dimmed lights. She wondered to herself how she missed that he was wearing a tie...a blue tie that matched his eyes. She shook her head slightly and smiled to herself.

And, of course, Gibbs noticed.

“What?” he asked turning to face her.

“I just noticed you are wearing a tie today...one that matches your eyes. It’s very nice,” she replied as she reached up to adjust the knot a bit.

Gibbs replied with the typical “Gibbs shrug and smirk”. Although he did add in an eyebrow raise that Jack appreciated greatly. His way of saying thank you without saying the actual words. 

“He’s ready,” he said as he left the recording room.

Jack watched as Gibbs dismantled the suspect’s stories one by one. He didn’t need to yell at the suspect but he did give him the “stare” a couple of times. It almost seemed to Jack, that the confession was too easy, but she could not detect any signs of lying. But it just felt off...the suspect felt off. Gibbs came back in as the suspect wrote his confession on the yellow legal pad.

“It was too easy. Something is off about him. I didn’t detect any of the usual lying traits but something is not right.” Jack told him.

“Let’s move him to a cell overnight and see what his story is in the morning. We have 48 hours to charge him or turn him loose.” Gibbs replied.

“Your place? What time?” Jack asked.

“7pm?” he asked.

“I’ll be there,” she replied as she left the recording room.

Gibbs went to the bullpen and Jack returned to her office and spent the next 2 hours staring a the elephant’s butt wondering what she was going to say to Gibbs. She sighed and sat down on the floor beneath the elephant painting and closed her eyes.

***

Jack pulled into Gibbs’ driveway a few minutes before 7. She brought his favorite beer and a lot of it. Instead of the typical 6-pack she usually brought over, she brought a case this time. She rolled her eyes at herself - feeling a bit silly for wanting to make a good impression.

She knocked on the door once and then let herself in. Gibbs was in the kitchen pulling the steaks out of the fridge. He put the steaks on the counter and reached for the beer.

“Lot of beer,” he said looking at Jack. She was wearing those tight black jeans he secretly loved so much. 

Instead of deflecting, Jack took a deep breath and told the truth,

“Trying to be nice, make a good impression.”

Gibbs smiled and replied,

“You always make a good impression.”

He turned back to the steaks, added salt and pepper and left them to come to room temperature. Jack put the beer in the fridge. 

“How’s the boat coming along?” she asked handing him a cold one.

“Come see,” he replied, heading for the basement.

Jack had come to love the basement. She enjoyed being down there while he worked. Sometimes, he would sand while she was pacing - letting her vent - interjecting when asked. Sometimes, they just sat at his workbench and talked. Or she talked a lot and he listened a lot. But she had to admit...over the last year or so - he had started talking more and more.

Coming down the stairs behind him, she stopped and started laughing. Her Rorschach print was hanging next to his workbench.

They stood next to each other staring at the print.

“I wondered where that went to!” she said still laughing

“I wanted to toss it out but thought you might punch me or something. Still think it’s a moth,” he replied.

“Thank you again, for the elephant painting,” Jack said as she turned to face him.

“You’re welcome,” he replied.

He motioned for her to sit at one of the barstools next to the workbench. With their backs to the bench, they stared at the boat. He had not had much time to work on it lately.

“Jack, you want to talk yet?” Gibbs asked taking a drink of his beer.

Jack sat there staring at his boat and taking her own long drink of beer. Her thoughts were running a million miles a second. What did she have to lose? Surely, he like-liked her...it was obvious wasn’t it? Was she imagining everything? Were they just really great friends? But everyone thought they already had a “thing” going on. She took a deep breath, avoiding his eyes and went for it,

“I like you...I mean I really like you, a lot...as a man...I mean…” she stammered.

Gibbs placed his hand on her thigh and she stopped talking. She looked up at him, feeling awkward and embarrassed. He reached up brushed her hair out of her face and over her ear - pulling her gently toward him. He kissed her slow and long before moving away,

“I really like you too.”

Jack stood up from her bar stool and went to stand between his legs, taking his face in her hands and she initiated a kiss of her own. He wrapped his arms around her waist pulling her closer. Her kiss turned frantic and took on a life of its own. Lips and tongues and teeth, hands in hair and under her shirt caressing the scars on her back as she sighed into his touch. She removed his flannel shirt leaving him in a gray tight t-shirt that revealed the muscles in his arms and shoulders. She raked her fingernails down his shoulders and backup, eliciting a sigh of approval from him. He removed her flannel too, revealing the tight white tank top. Her arms were toned and tan. He pulled her closer as he stood up. Dipping his head down to her jawline, he ran his tongue along her neck, and she moaned into him. Moving his arms up her back, he pulled her close. She felt his strong arms around her, his heart pounding in his chest. He kissed her cheek lightly,

“I promised you a steak.”

She smiled against his chest,

“I am hungry. And you did promise.”

Jack leaned back away from him and stared into his bright blue eyes. He leaned down to meet her lips.

“So...we are a thing?” Jack asked

Gibbs nodded, 

“Yeah, we are a thing,” he replied.

He took her hand and led her back upstairs.

***

Gibbs put the steaks on - in the fireplace while Jack opened two more cold ones. Her heart was pounding and she felt giddy. So this is what it felt like...to tell Gibbs the truth about her feelings and let herself feel them. On one hand, she was terrified - terrified of her feelings - terrified at how important he was to her. On the other...this is what she had wanted for so long.

Gibbs watched the steaks a moment then poured a bit of his beer over the top. He could feel the nervousness - bordering on fear coming off of Jack. He was nervous himself - his track record with women - was not great. He owed it to her to let her know how he was feeling … using words. Turning around to face her, he said

“I’m nervous too...about us but I don’t want to dance around this anymore, Jack.”

“I’m scared, Jethro. I haven’t been in a “thing” in a long time...pretty sure I never had a real “thing anyway.” Jack replied using his surname.

Gibbs turned the steaks over and poured more beer over the top. He moved to the couch sitting beside Jack...pulling her into his side..placing a kiss on her temple. 

“We can be scared or nervous... together?”

“Yeah,” she replied laying her head on his shoulder.

  
  
  



End file.
